Bowen Island

Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱wm in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver, and within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust.[7] Located in Howe Sound, it is approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide by 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long, and at its closest point is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the mainland. There is regular ferry service from Horseshoe Bay provided by BC Ferries, and semi-regular water taxi services. The population of 4,256[5] is supplemented in the summer by about 1,500 visitors. It has a land area of 50.12 km2 (19.35 sq mi).

For the Australian island, see Bowen Island (Jervis Bay).

Bowen Island
Nex̱wlélex̱m (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh)
Island municipality
Bowen Island Municipality[1]
Bowen Island from the ferry
Bowen Island from the ferry
Location of Bowen Island in Metro Vancouver
Location of Bowen Island in Metro Vancouver
Coordinates (Snug Cove): 49°23′N 123°23′W
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional districtMetro Vancouver
IncorporatedDecember 4, 1999[2]
Named forJames Bowen
SeatBowen Island Municipal Hall
Government
[3][4]
 • TypeMayor-council government
 • BodyBowen Island Municipal Council
 • MayorAndrew Leonard
 • Councillors
List
  • Sue Ellen Fast
  • Judith Gedye
  • Alex Jurgensen
  • Alison Morse
  • John Saunders
  • Tim Wake
 • MPPatrick Weiler (Liberal)
 • MLAJordan Sturdy (Liberal)
Area
[5][2]
 • Total63.60 km2 (24.56 sq mi)
 • Land50.12 km2 (19.35 sq mi)
 • Water13.10 km2 (5.06 sq mi)
Dimensions
 • Length12 km (7 mi)
 • Width6 km (4 mi)
Highest elevation
(Mount Gardner)
727 m (2,385 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2021)[5]
 • Total4,256
 • Estimate 
(2022)[6]
4,058
 • Density84.9/km2 (220/sq mi)
DemonymBowen Islander
Time zoneUTC−8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
Postal codes
V0N 1G0
V0N 1G1
V0N 1G2
Area codes604, 778, 236, 672
Websitewww.bowenislandmunicipality.ca

History

Indigenous peoples

The name for Bowen Island is Nex̱wlélex̱wm in the Squamish language of the Squamish people.[8]: 235  The Squamish peoples used and occupied the area around Howe Sound including Bowen Island.[8]: x  Areas such as Snug Cove and a few other parts of the island were used as campsites for hunting and gathering trips.

Historically they would use the warmer spring and summer months to travel to resource gathering sites and move from their permanent winter villages. Bowen Island has a traditional name in the Squamish language, Xwlíl’xhwm, translating to "Fast Drumming Ground",[9] although some authors attribute the name to the sound made by the ocean as it passes through the tiny pass between the island's northern point and Finisterre Island. The tide rushing in and out is reminiscent of the sound of drums beating quickly. The name "Kwém̓shem" is used for Hood Point.[8]: 235  Bowen is still used by people from Squamish and Musqueam for deer hunting.

Into the 20th century Bowen Island was actively used by Squamish people for deer and duck hunting, fishing and, later, wage jobs. In conversations with Vancouver archivist Major Matthews in the 1950s, August Jack Khatsahlano recalled knowing several Squamish who worked for whalers on the island at the turn of the 20th century. In a conversation with City of Vancouver archivist JA Matthews, Khatsahlano recalled deer hunting on Bowen, saying that at one time he took the biggest deer in British Columbia from the island, weighing in at 195 pounds (88 kg).

Post-colonization

When Spanish explorers arrived on the west coast of Canada, they named many of the features of what is now the Strait of Georgia. Bowen Island was called Isla de Apodaca (after the Mexican town of Apodaca, in northeast Nuevo León state, which was itself named after a benevolent bishop, Salvador de Apodaca y Loreto) by the Spanish Captain José María Narváez in July, 1791.[10] In 1860 Cpt. George Henry Richards renamed the island after Rear Admiral James Bowen, master of HMS Queen Charlotte.[11][12] In 1871, homesteaders began to build houses and started a brickworks, which supplied bricks to the expanding city of Vancouver. Over the years, local industry has included an explosives factory, logging, mining, and milling, but there is no heavy industry on the island at present.

20th century

In the first half of the 20th century, life on Bowen was dominated by a resort operated by the Terminal Steamship Company (1900-1920) and the Union Steamship Company (1920 - 1962). These companies provided steamer service to Vancouver, and the Horseshoe Bay - Bowen Island Ferry began in 1921. When the Union Steamship resort closed in the 1960s the island returned to a quiet period of slow growth. In the 1940s and 1950s, the artists' colony called Lieben[13] was a retreat for many famous Canadian authors, artists, and intellectuals including Earle Birney, Alice Munro, Dorothy Livesay, Margaret Laurence, A.J.M. Smith, Jack Shadbolt, Eric Nicol and Malcolm Lowry, who finished his last book, October Ferry to Gabriola, there. In the 1980s, real estate pressures in Vancouver accelerated growth on Bowen and currently the local economy is largely dependent on commuters who work on the mainland in Greater Vancouver. Prior to becoming a municipality, Bowen Island was part of the Sunshine Coast Regional District, made up of small communities and municipalities.

Commerce

Bowen Island is served by a number of small businesses including marinas, cafes, gift shops, grocery stores, a post office, pharmacy, restaurants, garden and flower shops, and a building supply yard. Bowen Island is served by First Credit Union, and by an Exchange Network ATM operated by North Shore Credit Union. Bowen Island's commercial sector is primarily located within Snug Cove and Artisan Square. It is also served by a weekly newspaper, the Bowen Island Undercurrent.

Transportation

Marine
Queen of Capilano ferry approaching Snug Cove, Bowen Island, British Columbia

Bowen Island is served by three scheduled water-transportation operators:

Land

Public roads are maintained by the Bowen Island Municipality. There are roadside walking trails in only a few places and the terrain is hilly and winding. Private vehicles are the primary form of transportation and hitchhiking is commonplace.

Bowen Island has limited bus service on these TransLink bus routes, which are timed to meet some ferry sailings:[17]

  • Route 280 Bluewater/Snug Cove
  • Route 281 Eagle Cliff/Snug Cove
  • Route 282 Mount Gardner/Snug Cove (weekends and holidays only)

Education
Exterior of the Bowen Island Public Library

The island is in the West Vancouver School District and has one public elementary school named Bowen Island Community School. High school students living in Bowen Island (grades 8 to 12) travel to West Vancouver to attend West Vancouver Secondary School, Sentinel Secondary School, or Rockridge. There is also the Island Pacific School, an International Baccalaureate middle school for grades 6 through 9. Some students also travel to West Vancouver to attend French Immersion at École Pauline Johnson. There is a public-supported home learning program, The Learning Centre, and a growing number of families also unschool. Bowen Island houses a public library in the heritage Old General Store that is also part of British Columbia's InterLink co-operative of public libraries.

Places of worship
Bowen Island United Church, c. 1971

There are a number of Christian churches on the Island. St Gerard's Catholic Church is located on Miller Road.[18] The United Church is situated in a timber building erected in 1932 a little further along on the same road. Also on Miller Road, nearer to Snug Cove, and meeting in Bowen Court, is Bowen Island Community Church,[19] an affiliate of the Congregational Christian Churches in Canada. Lastly, Cates Hill Chapel is a Christian Brethren church founded in 1991. Its present building on Carter Road was opened in 1999.[20] There are also regular meetings held by Unitarians and Quakers. Bowen Island is home to the Canadian branch of L'Abri, a communal Christian retreat centre where visitors come for self-directed study. Finally, Camp Bow-Isle is a summer camp for Christian Scientists.

There are regular Buddhist meditation sittings in both the Zen and Vipassana traditions.

Bowen's Jewish community celebrates Shabbat and high holidays, and acquired a Torah in 2006.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Bowen Island had a population of 4,256 living in 1,724 of its 2,036 total private dwellings, a change of 15.7% from its 2016 population of 3,680.[21] With a land area of 50.12 km2 (19.35 sq mi), it had a population density of 84.9/km2 (219.9/sq mi) in 2021.[5]

Ethnicity
Panethnic groups in the Island Municipality of Bowen Island (2001−2021)
Panethnic
group		 2021[22] 2016[23] 2006[24] 2001[25]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
European[lower-alpha 1] 3,825 90.53% 3,360 91.55% 3,045 90.63% 2,805 94.76%
East Asian[lower-alpha 2] 130 3.08% 90 2.45% 70 2.08% 75 2.53%
Indigenous 120 2.84% 70 1.91% 130 3.87% 10 0.34%
Latin American 50 1.18% 20 0.54% 10 0.3% 25 0.84%
African 30 0.71% 20 0.54% 15 0.45% 10 0.34%
South Asian 25 0.59% 55 1.5% 10 0.3% 0 0%
Southeast Asian[lower-alpha 3] 15 0.36% 25 0.68% 35 1.04% 30 1.01%
Middle Eastern[lower-alpha 4] 0 0% 10 0.27% 0 0% 0 0%
Other/Multiracial[lower-alpha 5] 20 0.47% 35 0.95% 50 1.49% 10 0.34%
Total responses 4,225 99.27% 3,670 99.73% 3,360 99.94% 2,960 100.1%
Total population 4,256 100% 3,680 100% 3,362 100% 2,957 100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Bowen Island included:[22]

Films and TV series shot entirely or partly on Bowen Island

Notes
  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  3. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

References
  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. "Letters Patent (Bowen Island Municipality Incorporation Document).pdf" (PDF). Bowen Island Municipality. September 2, 1999. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  3. "Council Members". Bowen Island Municipal Website. Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. "Municipal Council". www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  5. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  6. Services, Ministry of Citizens'. "Population Estimates - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  7. "Islands Trust - Homepage". Archived from the original on 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  8. Squamish Nation "Skwxwu7mesh Snichim-Xweliten Snichim Skexwts / Squamish-English Dictionary", Published 2011. ISBN 0-295-99022-8
  9. "A Short History of Bowen Island". Bowen Heritage. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  10. "Bowen Island". BC Geographical Names.
  11. Walbran, Captain John T. (1971). British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History (Facsimile reprint of 1909 ed.). Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre. p. 58. ISBN 0-88894-143-9. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  12. Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British Columbia Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, p. 25, ISBN 0-7748-0636-2
  13. "Bowen Island Museum & Archives: Lieben: An Artist Colony". Bowenislandmuseum.ca. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  14. "Ferry Schedule - Snug Cove-Horseshoe Bay". BC Ferries. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  15. "Cormorant Marine". Cormorantwatertaxi.com. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  16. "Bowen Express Bus Schedules". Bowen Island Transportation Society. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  17. "TransLink - Trip Planning". Translink. Archived from the original on 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  18. "St. Gerard's Catholic Christian Church, Bowen Island, BC, Canada". Stgerards.rcav.org. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  19. "Bowen Island Community Church". Bowencommunitychurch.org. 2017-04-10. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  20. "Cates Hill Chapel / Welcome". Cateshillchapel.com. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  21. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-02-08). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Bowen Island, Island municipality [Census subdivision], British Columbia and Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  22. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  23. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  24. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-08-20). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  25. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  26. Weblink to some great photos of the village on the Rita Tushingham homepage: "The Rita Tushingham Home Page - Credits & Photos 1964 - 1966". Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  27. "Stomp Tokyo Video Reviews - The Food of the Gods". Stomptokyo.com. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  28. American Gothic (1987) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  29. The Russia House (1990) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  30. Another Stakeout (1993) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  31. "Katie Holmes Pictures Gallery - DVD Captures/DDB 126". Archived from the original on 2005-11-27. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  32. Double Jeopardy (1999) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  33. Rugged Rich and the Ona Ona, retrieved 2020-06-22
  34. The Fog (2005) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  35. Paper Moon Affair, retrieved 2020-06-22
  36. The Hitchhiker, retrieved 2020-06-22
  37. The Wicker Man (2006) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  38. Are We Still the Ugly American?, retrieved 2020-06-22
  39. River, retrieved 2020-06-22
  40. The Uninvited (2009) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-22
  41. "Cameras in Snug Cove are for Netflix TV series". The Undercurrent. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-12-23.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bowen Island.
  • Hanen, Edythe Anstey (2004). Bowen Island Reflections. Bowen Island Historians, 160 pp.
  • Howard, Irene (1973). Bowen Island 1872-1972. Bowen Island Historians, 190 pp.
  • Ommundsen, Peter D. (1997). Bowen Island Passenger Ferries. The Sannie Transportation Company 1921-1956. Cape West Publishing, 64 pp.

49°23′N 123°23′W

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